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TROJAN WAR:  THE PODCAST

TROJAN WAR: THE PODCAST

EPISODE 7 “THE MAD KING”

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THE STORY:  (43 minutes)   Operation Trojan Storm needs the craft and cunning of Odysseus, Greece’s most clever man.  But Odysseus has mysteriously vanished.  Agamemnon puts his best man, Palamedes, on the case.  “Find Odysseus; bring him to me, one way or another”, Agamemnon commands.  But what Palamedes discovers when he finally locates Odysseus ….!  Tune in to the podcast to learn the whole, horrifying truth!

THE COMMENTARY:  GREEK PIRATES vs. TROJAN MERCHANTS (17 minutes; begins at 43:00)   I shamelessly spend this entire post-story commentary geeking-out on Greek naval technology and tactics.  First I paint a quick picture of sort of ships that Agamemnon was building in order to launch his amphibious invasion of Troy.  Then I review Greek naval tactics, explaining how Agamemnon’s fast, nimble and highly mobile  ships managed to terrorize the towns and cities of the Mediterranean world.  Then I explain how the Greeks of 1250 B.C.E. “looked outward” for economic opportunity:  how they proudly sacked, pillaged and raped their way through the Mediterranean with the help of their boats.  Then I turn to Troy – a Mediterranean power with no navy at all.  I explore the reason for this:  namely that the Trojans were merchants who had no need to venture outward for economic opportunity.  They simply sat safely behind their high walls and waited for the world’s wealth to come to them.  Finally I review  doubts expressed by contemporary historians concerning the actual size of Agamemnon’s invasion fleet:  were there really 1186 ships, as Homer claims?  Lots of fun!  Jeff

RELATED IMAGES

BOOK A LIVE TELLING or “EDU-TAINMENT” (click here)
ODYSSEUS, by Haywood Hardy 1874
Bronze Age Galley

Galleys Effecting a Beachhead
THE ILIAD OF HOMER, Elizabeth Vandiver (best academic summary of the The Iliad I have ever listened to!)
THE TROJAN WAR, Barry Strauss (my favourite military history account of the Trojan War)

THE WAR THAT KILLED ACHILLES, Caroline Alexander (a great companion book” when reading The Iliad)

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EPISODE 8 "FINDING ACHILLES"
EPISODE 6 "HELEN OF SPARTA"

Comments

  1. Mehdi Rubaii

    September 10, 2017 at 5:17 pm

    You know, the real tragedy is when you look at how long it actually takes for Odysseus to return home, and realize that even his cynical remark about the affair taking up to a year was a conservative estimate.

    • Jeff Wright

      September 10, 2017 at 7:49 pm

      Agreed! So you know: I am currently in the very early stages of creating “ODYSSEY: THE PODCAST”, which will continue the Trojan War: The Podcast epic story right through Odysseus’ journey home. Feel free to support the significant start up costs of creating that new podcast (artwork; website design; domain name purchase; episode cloud hosting; research; etc.) via a small donation. The DONATE button is on the Trojan War; The Podcast website page. Thanks. Jeff

RECENT EPISODES

  • EPISODE 1 “THE APPLE OF DISCORD”
  • EPISODE 2 “THE TORCH”
  • EPISODE 3 “THE BIRTH OF ACHILLES”
  • Episode 4 “THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS”
  • EPISODE 5 “SPARTA”
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